“I think you need to make the parents responsible. You’re looking at every other avenue. It’s the parents’ responsibility that have obese kids. I think you need to look at a bill to take the tax deduction away for their child if he’s obese. And in poorer families, they actually get money for their kids. I’d take that money away.”

Sen. Cultra later said it was a “tongue-in-cheek comment taken out of context - and should not be taken seriously.” To me, the video doesn’t appear to show any intended irony on Cultra’s part…

The tenor of the debate was that Republicans were mocking the [soda pop] tax and saying it would do nothing to solve childhood obesity. In light of this, it is easy to understand that Cultra was merely being sarcastic with his tax exemption removal proposal.

To back up the idea that Cultra was not seriously proposing this idea we can also note that he’s introduced no legislation to remove the tax exemptions nor begun any process to do so.

This misreported story is a perfect example of how bad our Old Media establishment really is. They look for sensation, not truth. Cultra’s joke was turned into “news” by reporters that didn’t bother to discover the real context of the remarks. Makes one wonder how often this happens, doesn’t it?

we should have a hefty tax on revolutionary war costumes. also, “don’t tread on me” flags. oh, and american flags! surely anyone who is patriotic enough to purchase an american flag is patriotic enough to pay their taxes…

I think you need to make the Legislators responsible. You’re looking at every other avenue. It’s the Legislator’s responsibility that we have obese budget deficits. I think you need to look at a bill to take the tax deduction away for Legislator’s if the budget deficit is obese. And for the Leaders, they actually get more money for their leadership. I’d take that money away.”

“I think you need to make the parents responsible. You’re looking at every other avenue. It’s the parents’ responsibility that have Cub fan kids. I think you need to look at a bill to take the tax deduction away for their child if he’s a Cub fan. And in poorer families, they actually get money for their kids. I’d take that money away.”

@Easy - I think Cultra’s position has more to do with the fact that Archer Daniels Midland is the world’s largest supplier of corn syrup.

Back to the QOTD:

Let’s eliminate the tax credits for newspapers that plagarize from Capitolfax.

ALL Corporate tax credits should be reduced by the amount of their CEO’s salary and other compensation.

And we should end mortgage tax credits for anyone buying a home in a flood plain — because taking out a 30 year loan on property that floods every 20 years is just kind of silly.

I nearly suggested this yesterday, but the average American kid will see 8000 murders on t.v. before they finish 6th grade. Cultra could score a two-fer if he went after Tater Tots (copyrighted) and eliminated the income tax deductions for parents who let their kids watch more than five hours of t.v./video games a week.

But I think we should ADD a tax credit for parents who buy their kids bicycles.

In the new nanny society you lose tax deductions for not having your child potty trained by 24 months, not having the required vaccines lose deductions, schools that offer free breakfast and lunch will now be required to have after school fitness classes for the fat kids or no grants, parents will need to document that they read to their children 60 mins a week on their state tax forms until Jr can read or no deduction. And every year all children will have to know the answer to when was the last time the cubs won the world series and be able to do the math to tell the auditor how many years ago that is.

“I think you need to make the parents responsible. You’re looking at every other avenue. It’s the parents’ responsibility that have kids who wear ridiculous baggy pants showing their drawers. I think you need to look at a bill to take the tax deduction away for their child if he’s sagging. And in poorer families, they actually get money for their kids. I’d take that money away and use it to buy mandatory suspenders and mom jeans.”

On a slightly more serious note, here is the Comptroller’s most recent report on tax expenditures a.k.a. tax breaks or tax loopholes.

The single largest expenditure is $1.6 billion a year — the sales tax break on food, drugs, and medical equipment.

I’m actually surprised no one has proposed eliminating the Viagra tax break yet. So I’ll be the first.

In fact, any drug that can afford to be advertised on t.v. is clearly doing well enough in sales that ALL of them should be subject to the full sales tax.

And of course Spam. Which shouldn’t be exempted from the general sales tax because it doesn’t fit the definition of “food.”

BTW, the sales tax exemption for newspapers and magazines I refered to earlier totalled $37 million. Is the Chicago Tribune going to threaten to move to New Jersey, Tennessee or Texas if we take away their tax break? LOL. Get rid of it.

“I think you need to make other parents responsible. You’re looking at every other avenue. It’s other parents’ responsibility that have other peoples’ kids. I think you need to look at a bill to take the tax deduction away for their child if it’s not my kid. And in poorer families, they actually get money for kids who are not my kids. I’d take that money away.”

Commonsense in Illinios:
I have suggested your thought a little differently for years. Pay every legislator about $150K oer year. They get to introduce two bills a year, plus one more if budget related for free. After that they pay 10K for every bill they introduce. I bet you that gets rid of a lot of the crap. :-)

“I think you need to make the GOP state senators responsible… I think you need to look at a bill to take their state salary away if the counties in their district receive more money from government programs than those counties pay for in taxes. And in the most hypocritical instances, where anti-big government rural Republican state senators’ from those ‘net-positive’ districts point the finger of blame at poor urban folks, the senators need to lose their state-paid health insurance, too. I’d take that money away.”

Members of the Rebel Alliance shall lose their tax breaks because of the additional cost of Storm Troopers the Galactic Empire is required to keep to enforce martial law.

All Jedi Knights will be required to have a concealed carry permit, only issued on alternate leap days where the Forest Moon of Endor is waxing. The fee shall be 75 Imperial Credits. Levitating remains untaxed.

Banthas will be inoculated for rabies and shall wear a tag around their necks at all times. Fee: 25 Imperial Credits.

All Wookies will be required to shave, although there will be a new income tax deduction for depilatory cream.

Malt liquor taxes are waived for Billy Dee Williams, however, Lisa Madigan may still launch an investigation into their effects, especially if shiny labels are involved.

The current tax structure will be revamped to include medical devices and droids (unless they aren’t the ones your looking for, in which case you may move along).

The death penalty will be re-instituted for anyone who likes Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Springfield will be renamed Death Star, which looks a mess, but is fully operational. Darth Pat shall be retired at the next election.

Kind of in the vain of bigtwitch’s (but I thought of it before reading his comment!):

“I think you need to make the legislators responsible. You’re looking at every other avenue. It’s the legislators’ responsibility that they introduce stupid bills. I think you need to look at a bill to take the tax deductions away from legislators if they introduce a clearly stupid bill. And legislators, they actually get campaign contributions for this job. I’d take that money away.”

“If Mayor Bloomberg can ban the use of foot stamps to buy sugary soft drinks, certainly Cultra’s suggestion makes about as much sense?”
This is an idea for the senator…a bill to ban junk food and soft drinks from the link card purchased. Health is one factor and the other is if you have to be on link buy healthy food, other foods are treats when you can afford them.

They should tax everyone who has raised, clothed, fed and nurtured law-abiding, tax paying children to adulthood. They should give that to parents whose childrens’ housing, food, etc is already supplied and let them spend it on liquor and drugs. Ahh, never mind